Anti-jackknifing connection arrangement for railway draft rigging



April 19, 1960 F. H. KAYLER ETA.

ANTI-JACKKNIFING CONNECTION ARRANGEMENT FOR RAILWAY DRAFT RIGGING 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Octv 23, 1957 INVENTOR. $261726 2/. 7211 and ahemw c. Wwlee BY /AG f 4/ (gafil p x 1960 F. H. KAYLER ETAL 2,933,199

ANTI-JACKKNIFING CONNECTION ARRANGEMENT FOR RAILWAY DRAFT RIGGING Filed on. 23, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet z INVENTOR.

Lzan

BY w a ba 4% (2 /1 AN'I'I-JACKKNIFING CONNECTION ARRANGE- MENT FOR RAILWAY DRAFT RIGGING Frank H. Kayler and Frederick (I. Kulieke, Alliance, Ohio, assignors to American Steel Foundries, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of New Jersey Application October 23, 1957, Serial No. 691,928

1 Claim. (Cl. 213) This invention relates to draft rigging for railway car couplers and more particularly to a connection arrangement between a coupler shank and yoke.

The invention comprehends a new and improved pivotal connection arrangement between the shank and yoke elements of a coupler adapted especially for use on locomotives of the type used for switching in railroad yards wherein the coupler is subjected to a substantially greater amount of buffing action and stresses than are the couplers of ordinary passenger locomotives which are designed with a View toward having an absolute minimum of slack between mated couplers.

It is well known to those familiar with the art of railway couplers and draft appliances that most locomotives, and particularly the diesel-electric type employed for switching, are usually so constructed that the distance between the pivot center of the power unit truck to the coupling line of the adjacent car coupler is far greater than it is in the case of an ordinary freight or passenger car. Because of this fact, together with the fact that locomotive couplers are shorter in length than ordinary car couplers, locomotive couplers frequently tend to become misaligned with mated couplers especially when subjected to excessive alternating bufiing and draft stresses caused by frequent starting and stopping as occur during switching operations. This misalignment problem is increased when the vehicles to which the couplers are applied pass over the numerous track crossovers and rail junctions common in switch yards.

Frequent or continual conditions of misalignment or jackknifing between mated couplers frequently cause excessive wheel wear and heated journal bearings, and also can be a major factor in the cause of derailments.

It is highly essential, therefore, that coupler and draft gear connections employed on locomtives of the type described be provided with means to prevent excessive jackknifing and to insure alignment between mated couplers.

In the past various connection arrangements with antijackknifing features have been provided, but few have been completely successful, for in the correction or remedying of one operational problem new problems have been created.

One attempted solution to the problem of misalignment has been the provision of an arrangement including a yoke having an integral thrust block engageable with the coupler shank butt and having separate plungers interposed between wings extending from opposite sides of the shank butt and the forward end of the draft gear cushioning device. Although the concept of separate members such as plungers or followers interposed between the coupler shank and the draft gear to transmit some of the thrust faces of buff directly to the draft gear is sound, yet in the application of this concept, it is important that the arrangement be designed to minimize the shear forces which have to be taken by the pin and to eliminate where possible the necessity for machining parts to almost perfect tolerances. For example, in the above described device which is illustrated in a prior art US. Patent No.

2,754,978, a centrally disposed thrust block of the yoke is integral with the center yoke forward shelf which is interlocked with and pivotally connected to the bifurcated butt of the coupler shank. Although the patent states that bufing forces applied to the coupler are transmitted to the draft gear through the engagement between the rearwardly and forwardly facing co-engaging surfaces of the shank butt and thrust block, respectively, it is readily apparent that in order for the device to operate in the manner described in the patent the co-engageable coupler shank and yoke surfaces would have to be machined to and maintained at almost perfect tolerances. If there is interference between engaging surfaces, it is impossible to cf the coupler shank into the pocket of the yoke far enough to permit the insertion of the pivot pin through the yoke and shank apertures; on the other hand if there is any appreciable amount of clearance between the forward surface of the thrust block and the rear surface it is apparent that before any butting force can be transmitted from the shank butt to the thrust block the force must first be taken by the pin and the pin deformed until the shank butt surface contacts the thrust block surface. Furthermore, the primary point of concentration of this shear force is at the center of the pivot pin where it can easily deform the pin making it diificult to remove and also possibly cause a pin failure resulting in separation of the coupler shank from the yoke.

\ It is apparent that it is diflicult from an engineering viewpoint as well as uneconomical from a production cost viewpoint to maintain such perfect tolerances; for these relatively crude castings would require extensive precision machining, and the wear due to normal frictional resistance of moving parts would soon increase the clearances beyond the proper point.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide an improved coupler shank-yoke pivotal connection arrangement with anti-jackknifing features to aid in maintaining alignment between mated couplers.

Another object of the invention is to provide a coupler yoke-shank pivotal connection utilizing a single follower member between the draft gear cushion and the shank butt.

Still another object is to provide a pivotal connection which will permit the coupler shank to angle horizontally relative to the yoke, but which will prevent the shank from angling vertically relative to the yoke in order that the shank and yoke can angle vertically as a unit relative to the draft gear cushion wd pocket.

It is a more specific object of the invention to provide a pivotal connection wherein the pivot pin is subjected to a minimum degree of shear stresses, especially along its medial portions.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from an examination of the following description and drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a fragmentary top plan view partly in horizontal longitudinal section taken on line i1 of Figure 2, of a railway car coupler and draft gear arrangement embodying features of the invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary elevational view partly in vertical longitudinal section taken on line 22 of Figure l, and

Figure 3' is a partial transverse vertical sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

it will be understood that certain elements have been intentionally omitted from certain views where they are illustrated to better advantage in other views.

Referring now to the drawings for a better understanding of the invention, it will be seen that the locomotive (not shown) is provided on its underside with a sill structure or draft gear housing indicated generally at 10 and comprising top, bottom, side, and rear walls 13,

' 3 15, 17, and 19 defining therebetween a draft gear pocket 12 in which is disposed a yoke 14 having a transverse opening 34 containing a draft gear or cushioning device 16. The forward portion of yoke 14 is pivotally connected as by pin 18 to the rearward extremity of a shank 20 of a coupler 22 having at the other end thereof a head 24. V

The draft gear or cushioning device -16 may be of any type such as the rubber cushioning device illustrated in the drawing, and presents forwardly facing and rearwardly facing pairs of stop surfaces 26 and 28, respectively, which extend out of the yoke and which are engageable with front and rear pairs of draft gear lugs 30 and 32, respectively, disposed within the draft gear pocket Inwardly of the draft gear stop surfaces 26 and 28 the draft gear presents rearwardly facing and forwardly facing arcuate convex surfaces 36 and 33 which are engageable, respectively, with a concave forwardly facing surface 40 presented by the rear wall 41 of the yoke and and arcuate concave rearwardly facing surface 42 presented by a follower member 44 disposed within the yoke between the draft gear and the coupler shank. The follower 44 also presents aforwardly facing generally semicylindrically shaped concave vertical front center surface 46 and a pair of generally flat vertical forwardly facing surfaces 48 disposed adjacent opposite side of the center surface.

, As best seen in Figure 2, the rearward extremity or butt of the coupler shank 20 is bifurcated to present a pair of vertically spaced shelves or loops 49 which are disposed between and in interlocking relationship with three vertically spaced shelves or webs 51 at the forward extremity of the yoke 14. Shelves 49 present rearwardly facing convex partly cylindrical vertical surfaces 56 which engage forwardly facing surface 46 presented by follower member 44. Additionally, the shelves or loops 49 are provided with lugs 58 extending outwardly from the sides thereof, the lugs 58 presenting rearwardly facing fiat vertical surfaces 60 which are engageable with forwardly facing surfaces 48 of follower member 44. It will be seen that the engagement between the rearward face of the coupler shank and the forward face of the follower member will permit the shank and yoke to angle vertically as a unit and to angle horizontally or lateral-1y relative to each other within the limits imposed by the engagement between surfaces 48 of the follower member and surfaces 60 of the coupler shank loop lugs. Thus, excessive anti-jackknifing will be prevented. The shelves: of the yoke and shank are provided with vertically aligned apertures 50 and 52, respectively, for receipt of the pin 18 which serves to pivotally interconnect the yoke and shank elements. The pin may be retained in position by a retainer 54 disposed to extend across the bottom of the pin and through aligned apertures of a pair of lugs 55 depending from the yoke 14 on opposite sides of the aperture 50. If desired, the retainer may in turn be held in place by a cotter.

As best seen in Figure 2 of the drawings the center yoke shelf 51, which is necessary to add structural rigidity to the device, extends transversely of the yoke but is free from connection to or contact with the yoke, at any point between the sides thereof, and is also free from contact with adjacent vertical surfaces of the follower and the shank. The reason for providing this clearance adjacent the ends of center shelf 51 is to avoid the necessity of maintaining perfect tolerances between the mating shank and follower surfaces as is required in the prior art device described above.

By having the upper and lower shank arms transmitting thrust directly to the follower, which abutting the draft gear cushion is capable of self-adjusting, the necessity for machining the co-engaging surfaces to nearly perfect tolerances is eliminated.

The yoke may be supported in the draft gear pocket by a pair of blocks 70 seated on the draft gear pocket floor 72 and presenting upper surfaces 74 engageable with lower surfaces 76 of the draft gear 16 which is disposed within the yoke opening 34. If desired, bearing plates 78 may be interposed between the supporting blocks 70 and the draft gear 16.

The forward portion of the shank 29 may be supported by a coupler carrier 8t) which, in turn, is mounted on a plurality of springs 82 seated on the floor 72 of the draft gear pocket. The springs and carrier may be retained in position and secured to the draft gear pocket bottom wall 15 by means of a nut and bolt assembly 84.

In order to limit upward movement of the coupler head, a coupler stop element f0 may be secured to the draft gear pocket top wall 13 in any desired manner as by nut and bolt 94. The entire coupler and yoke must be able to angle vertically up and down to accommodate differences in height of adjacent connectedlocomotive. The arcuate surfaces 36 and 38 of the draft gear provide means for the yoke to rotate during vertical angling. The coupler carrier 80 limits downward angling when the bottom of the carrier is depressed to contact with surfaces 72 of bottomwall 15.

During horizontal angling the coupler angles independent of the yoke by pivotal movement about pin 18 thus bringing either side lug 58 of coupler shank into contact with either side surface 48 of follower thereby providing resistance means to jackknifing of the coupler. This resistance means tends to maintain and return coupler in near straight alignment. 7

We claim:

In a railway vehicle draft rigging, the combination of: a coupler having a head and a shank extending rearwardly therefrom, the rearward extremity of the shank presenting a centrally disposed vertical transversely extending rearwardly facing parti-cylindrical surface and presenting immediately adjacent opposite sides of said surface of a pair of vertical transversely extending rearwardly facing flat surfaces; a yoke movably carried by the vehicle and containing a draft ger enggeble with the vehicle; 11 independent unitary follower, of substantially the same width as the rear extremity of the shank, disposed in the yoke between the draft gear and the shank, said follower presenting a vertical transversely extending rearwardly facing surface engageable with a forwardly facing surface of the draft gear, said follower also presenting a centrally disposed vertical transversely extending forwardly facing parti-cylindrical surface complementary to and engageable with the parti-cylindrical surface of the shank and presenting immediately adjacent opposite sides of said forwardly facing parti-cylindrical surface a pair of vertical transversely extending forwardly facing flat surfaces disposed for engagement with the respective fiat surfaces of the shank; and a pivotal connection between the yoke and shank accommodating relative pivotal movement therebetwe'en about a vertical axis; the flat surfaces of the shank and follower being spaced'from each other for alternate engagement to permit limited horizontal angling between the shank and yoke and to prevent vertical'an'gling therebetween so that the shank and yoke can angle verically as a unit relative to the vehicle.

,References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Regan' -a Aug; '14, 1917 

